from Missing Sky 101 Doctor “removed 6 thyroids in recent months” from USS Reagan crew exposed to Fukushima fallout — “Over 500 sailors ill after mission in Japan” — Officer: “There’s sick soldiers everywhere, many in hospitals in San Diego or Hawaii… I don’t know what’s going on” — Veteran in wheelchair thrown out by physician, “You’re faking, you need to leave” (VIDEO) http://enenews.com/doctor-removed-6-t… 1,000 homes being torn down after decontamination Nuclear & Energy Feb. 12, 2015 – Updated 04:39 UTC-5 NHK has learned that at least 1,000 homes in Fukushima Prefecture will be demolished — even after they have been cleaned of radioactive fallout from the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident. Local officials say that’s a waste of time and money. They call on the government to run the decontamination work more efficiently. NHK polled officials from 9 Fukushima municipalities where demolition is under way. Each municipality remains partly or completely evacuated. Officials from 3 towns said about 1,080 houses are to be torn down despite being decontaminated as requested by residents. Naraha Town reports the largest number, around 870. Abe visits areas hit by 2011 disaster Japan Feb. 14, 2015 – Updated 08:58 UTC-5 Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has paid his first visit of the year to areas in northeastern Japan hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Abe traveled to Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures on Saturday. He visited an apparel manufacturing and sales company in Kesen-numa City in Miyagi. The firm gives priority to hiring women to produce clothing including hand-knit sweaters. Abe tried on a sweater, and said it is light and very warm. He later visited a public housing complex. Disaster survivors began moving into the complex at the end of last month. Abe said the government plans to do more to help people move to permanent housing as scheduled. After the tour, Abe told reporters that he sensed the reconstruction efforts are finally entering a new stage. He said the government plans to increase its efforts and assistance to protect people and provide psychological care. NRA: Takahama reactors clear screening Nuclear & Energy Feb. 11, 2015 – Updated 21:55 UTC-5 Japan’s nuclear regulator says 2 reactors at Takahama nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture have cleared screening for restart. The Nuclear Regulation Authority unanimously decided on Thursday that safety measures on the No.3 and No.4 reactors meet new government requirements set after the Fukushima Daiichi disaster. About 3,600 ordinary people gave their views on the NRA assessment via a public comment system. Some comments said the authority underestimated the size of tremors from an earthquake. Others criticized the inadequacy of measures to deal with a severe accident or terrorist attack. Japanese food exports hit record high in 2014 Japan Feb. 10, 2015 – Updated 02:18 UTC-5 Japan exported a record 5.2 billion dollars’ worth of farm products and seafood last year, thanks to a weaker yen and the growing popularity of Japanese food worldwide. Officials at the agriculture and fisheries ministry said on Tuesday that exports in 2014 topped the 600-billion-yen mark for the first time since ministry statistics began in 1955. That’s up more than 10 percent from the previous record year of 2013. They say an easing of import restrictions other countries adopted after the 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima also contributed to the robust figures. By product, beef and rice exports soared around 40 percent. By destination, Hong Kong was the largest importer, followed by the US and Taiwan. Japan’s government aims to expand food exports as part of the country’s growth strategy, targeting 1 trillion yen, or 8.4 billion dollars, in exports a year by 2020.